How To Interop Unlock Samsung ATIV S On Windows Phone 8

WP8 has been around for quite some time now, and has certainly turned out to be more of a success than Windows Phone 7. One area where the new version of the OS has been lagging behind though, is root access and developer unlock. If you have never been a user of Microsoft’s older mobile platforms, going through our guide to unlocking WP7 might help you understand what unlocking means for Windows Phone. Basically, an interop unlocked device lets users install any app on their device via XAP files (even if the app requires admin rights, or isn’t available on Windows Phone Store), and also offers the ability to access and edit protected system files. All that was until Mango though, and we were left waiting for something even close to unlocking for WP8 since its release. Finally, almost out of the blue, a developer over at XDA has come up with a working interop unlock for Windows Phone 8! At present, the method only works on Samsung ATIV S, and makes use of the amazingly useful diagnostics app that comes with Samsung Windows Phone devices.

The developer behind the interop unlock hasn’t outlined the method in great detail for now, but by the looks of it, you won’t need to do much before your device becomes capable of installing root-level apps.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Instructions

You need a developer account in order to make this method work, but the great thing about it is that unlike the older WP7 methods, the WP8 unlock works even with a free AppHub account. Just head to the Windows Phone section of the Dev Center, and register your Samsung ATIV S.

Now that your device is registered, you can easily install XAP files to it. Head to the XDA forum thread linked at the end of this post, and grab the file titled ‘NativeToastLauncherApp_Release_ARM.xap’.

Now install this downloaded XAP file on your phone.

Now you can access the operating system’s registry values and even make changes to it.

According to ‘GoodDayToDie’, the man behind the unlock, he was able to install and run apps that tinker with WP8’s innards, and require root-level privileges. We understand that the interop unlock doesn’t actually do much at present, but it is very important since it paves the way for future developments, and shows the world that there is more to Windows Phone 8 than pretty tiles and nice photography options.